Norway enhances security at border with Russia

Norway is ramping up security along its nearly 200-kilometer border with Russia, announcing plans to establish a new military brigade dedicated to this effort.

This initiative comes in response to increasing geopolitical tensions and concerns over Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Tone Vangen, head of emergency preparedness at the Norwegian Police Directorate, told state broadcaster NRK that the measures would be introduced at the Storskog border crossing, Norway’s only such crossing with Russia, located in the eastern province of Finnmark.

Vangen pointed to the 2015 migrant crisis, when thousands of illegal migrants attempted to enter Norway from Russian territory, causing logistical and security challenges.

This, she added, prompted a reassessment of border controls.

“Therefore, at the Storskog border crossing, we are planning measures to increase security around the facility. Our goal is to be better prepared in case of a new wave of migrants from Russia,” she said, quoted by Ukrainian news website Euromaidan Press.

She added that similar border measures have been introduced by Poland, Finland, and Baltic states, which faced a hybrid attack last year from Belarus.

According to media reports, Norway also intends to employ drones in the future for monitoring the Norwegian-Russian border, with testing already in progress.

By 2036, the Nordic country aims to have a fully established brigade dedicated to securing the frontier with Russia.

News.Az